Penn-Trafford Star category
Bocce builds bridges for people of all ages and abilities
Abigail Gerthoffer wasn’t sure what she was getting into when she joined Burrell High School’s unified bocce team during her sophomore year. She just knew the team aligned with her values and personal mission to have a positive effect in the world. With no prior experience playing bocce, Gerthoffer jumped...
Penn-Trafford area: Bushy Run events, Galentine’s Day, Lego bingo, more
Bushy Run events Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township will host a speaker on Feb. 21 and its annual Charter Day on March 8. The speaker, part of the historical site’s regular “History Speaks” series, will discuss how Bushy Run is portrayed in films. The event will be held at...
Penn-Trafford boys beat buzzer to defeat Latrobe
One second led to a second chance for Penn-Trafford. And that snippet of time made for one wild finish in Harrison City. Ethan McDonald made an off-balance, falling-down shot off a lob from Nick Ponko from under the basket to beat the buzzer and lift Penn-Trafford to a 45-43 victory...
Plum’s Stephans hits 1,000 points in defeat of Penn-Trafford girls
Riley Stephans stepped to the top of the arc and accepted a pass from Tamia West. Flashing a quick glance at the hoop, she took the shot. The bank was open as she used a little backboard to complete the milestone field goal. That 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 41 seconds...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Jan. 25, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Edgewood Rui Babilonia sold property at 152 Oakview Ave. to Mathew Nathan Sathiyanathan Naveen and Anupriya Ebenezer for $275,000. Forest Hills Carson 2800 Associates L.P. sold property at 1987 Centurion Drive Apt 210 to Carlene Catania for $42,000. Monroeville Linda Cunningham sold property at 707 Citadel Drive to...
Bushy Run to temporarily close museum while searching for new manager
Bushy Run Battlefield will temporarily close its museum while its board searches for a new manager. Museum manager Matt Adams will leave his post Sunday after about three years at the Penn Township historical site, which commemorates the 1763 clash between the British and Native Americans during Pontiac’s War. On...
Woman sentenced for shooting Penn Township roommate with century-old shotgun
More than three years after Erik Allison was shot in the throat by a woman prosecutors claimed was a jealous roommate, he still carries approximately 100 shotgun pellets in his body. “It is still very painful,” Allison said Friday during a sentencing hearing for Leah H. Gillis, who fired a...
Westmoreland developments: Longtime Penn Township restaurant for sale, dog grooming salon opens in Hempfield
A longtime Penn Township restaurant is looking for a new owner. Janet Whirlow operated the eatery at the corner of Route 130 and Harrison City-Export Road for a half century — first as the Dairy Barn ice cream shop and then as Janet’s Restaurant, selling homestyle dishes. Whirlow, a trailblazer...
Bushy Run Battlefield museum manager to depart post
Matt Adams is looking forward to his new commute — a three-block walk from his downtown Greensburg residence to the post office on South Pennsylvania Avenue. Adams has worked about three years as museum manager at Bushy Run Battlefield — the 213-acre Penn Township historical site that played host to...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Jan. 18, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Christopher West sold property at 259 Cascade Road to Patrick and Carolyn Sheehan for $270,000. Jesse Campayno sold property at 324 Sharon Drive to David Lefkowitz and Dawn Haberlach for $357,500. Nicholas Oran Fallone sold property at 332 Sharon Drive to George Reuss for $285,600. Jeffery...
Franklin Regional boys turn back Penn-Trafford behind Logan Walter’s 32 points
Logan Walter had zero points in the second quarter as Penn-Trafford concentrated on stopping the Franklin Regional junior shooting guard after he had 10 in the first. The Warriors, however, couldn’t slow him down in the second half. Not with their guards, not with their 2-3 zone, not with their...
Penn-Trafford graduate, former Wisconsin RB Cade Yacamelli transfers to Miami (Ohio)
Not long after he locked his name into the NCAA transfer portal, Cade Yacamelli made a commitment to a new college football program, with little fanfare or attention. Just the way he liked it. The running back didn’t even post anything on social media when he verbally pledged to Miami...
Penn Township to gather public input on latest rezoning proposal
Penn Township will host a meeting next month to gather feedback on a series of proposed zoning changes. The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 9 in the cafeteria of Penn-Trafford High School, 3381 Route 130, Penn Township. The rezoning plan is intended to diversify the township’s...
Penn Township fires finance director after about 5 months on the job
The Penn Township commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday to fire Finance Director Jaime Peticca after about five months on the job. Peticca was hired by the township Aug. 20 to fill a vacancy left by Colleen Gain, who resigned in June. Township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez declined to comment on the reason...
As Penn-Trafford wrestlers get healthy, optimism grows
Penn-Trafford wrestling coach Travis McKillop said he feels good about his squad despite a 2-4 record to start the season. Injuries have slowed the team’s progress. The Warriors opened the season by finishing third at the Hickory Invitational and followed that by defeating Plum in a Section 9-3A match, 38-26....
Penn-Trafford notebook: Sean Goodman’s hat trick sparks hockey team
Penn-Trafford rebounded from its loss to Hempfield by defeating Wheeling Park in Class 2A PIHL action. The Warriors (12-2) had 36 points and held a one-point lead on the Spartans (11-2) for the top spot in the standings. Penn-Trafford had its 10-game winning streak halted Dec. 22 by the Spartans,...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Jan. 11, 2026
Churchill Jens Danielsen sold property at 2511 Collins Road to Jake Eged for $213,000. Estate of John Perry sold property at 2525 Greensburg Pike to Eugene and Audrey Wlahofsky for $222,500. Diane Davis sold property at 2525 Greensburg Pike Unit 403 to Leon and Jeanetta Blackston for $230,000. Estate of...
Penn-Trafford area: History talk, puzzle sale, Sportsman’s Bash, more
Bushy Run history talk Bushy Run Battlefield will host its next History Speaks talk at 1 p.m. Jan. 17 at its museum, 1253 Route 993 in Penn Township. Hempfield Area middle school social studies teacher Michael Giorgianni will teach attendees about the onset of the French and Indian War and...
Norwin wrestling decks Penn-Trafford with 6 pins
Norwin wrestling coach Kyle Martin pushed his team at practice to be tougher since the Powerade tournament last month. The No. 2-ranked Knights (8-1, 3-0) showed that Wednesday against rival Penn-Trafford in a Section 9-3A match. Norwin put on a show by winning 10 of 13 matches, which included six...
Central Pa. man charged in Trafford power substation explosions
A Central Pennsylvania man was jailed Tuesday in connection with two explosions in 2025 at a Duquesne Light substation in Trafford. Derrick W. McCarty, 32, of McVeytown is accused by borough police of trying to cut high-voltage lines Feb. 1 at the substation near the Trafford Commerce Center, according to...
Westmoreland developments: Manor restaurant revived, Hempfield welcomes secondhand clothing store
It’s safe to say Julia Gutkowski was born into the restaurant industry. The 19-year-old Irwin resident made her debut in the food business as an eighth grade student in the Penn-Trafford School District while waitressing at Manor Grille — the restaurant her parents, Derek and Megan Gutkowski, operated for more...
Westmoreland judge rejects battered woman appeal in decades-old murder case
A Westmoreland County judge has rejected a claim that a battered woman defense should have been used in the trial of a woman serving life in prison for a murder in Manor nearly two decades ago. Jennifer Vinsek, 44, of Greensburg, was one of five people convicted in the 2006...
Penn-Trafford boys rally, get late basket from Ponko to defeat Latrobe
Nick Ponko caught the basketball at the high post, turned into an open lane and completed a frantic rally. He took two dribbles and scored on a left-handed layup with 4.1 seconds remaining to lift Penn-Trafford to a 67-65 comeback victory over Latrobe in another Section 1-5A nailbiter between the...
Wilkinsburg educator tapped for Penn-Trafford High School assistant principal role
Penn-Trafford’s newest administrator is in for more than a career change. Megan Flaherty, a former administrator and special education teacher from Wilkinsburg School District, was hired last month as Penn-Trafford High School’s next assistant principal. She will replace Jim Simpson — who has been a transitionary principal at the high...
Trafford historian seeks federal approval for naming Brush Creek tributary
A Trafford historian is seeking federal approval to name a North Huntingdon stream after the German immigrant family that settled along its banks in the 1870s. Andrew Capets, president of the Trafford Historical Society, is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to formally designate the Brush...
